University of Memphis coach Mike Norvell asked sports columnist and radio personality Geoff Calkins to call plays at the spring game. Calkins learned a lot about himself – mostly, that he should not call plays – but just as much about Norvell.

BIRMINGHAM — He made the first one. Riley Patterson drilled the 38-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. Except Wake Forest called timeout just before the snap. So he had to kick the thing again.

This could have been embarrassing for Penny Hardaway and the Memphis program. It’s one thing to get into a public fracas with Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. It’s another thing to then go out and lose to a team like Little Rock. But with 3:52 left in the game, Little Rock up by two points, embarrassment seemed distinctly possible.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, now known as Supreme Bey, is returning to Memphis early next week to start a foundation and host an event to give Christmas gifts to kids. He explains why he's doing it, what he's up to these days and why he declined the university's offer to retire his number.

Robert Pera remains committed to keeping the Grizzlies in Memphis and is more active than ever in running the team. That emerged as the theme of The Daily Memphian’s interview with Pera – the product of a longstanding request – during halftime of Friday’s game against the Miami Heat.

Geoff Calkins and Jonah Jordan talk about the future of Memphis football coach Mike Norvell, the disgrace that was the AAC title game, the state of football and basketball recruiting and the progress of Penny Hardaway’s basketball team.

After eight games, after four wins and four losses, after trips to Baton Rouge, Orlando and Miami, the Memphis Tigers are the one thing you should have really wanted them to be at this point in the season.

November 2018

ORLANDO — After the traditional photos with the championship trophy, after the smiles and the shaking of hands, Memphis coach Mike Norvell quietly handed a football to UCF coach Josh Heupel — signed by the Memphis team — to give to UCF’s injured quarterback, McKenzie Milton.

ORLANDO — Penny Hardaway sat in front of the microphone in the wake of Oklahoma State’s blowout win over the Memphis Tigers in the AdvoCare Invitational and decided to really lay into the individual he thought was responsible for the listless performance.

BATON ROUGE — Memphis guard Tyler Harris is listed at 5-9. LSU forward Kavell Bigby-Williams is listed at 6-11. So there’s no reasonable way to explain what Harris did with 14:39 left in the second half.

October 2018

Memphis coach Mike Norvell says running back Darrell Henderson will be back for the East Carolina game. Norvell will be flying around Memphis in a helicopter Friday night, traveling to local high school games. And Norvell remains confident in the trajectory of the program, despite the dispiriting loss to Missouri.

Derrick Rose brought down the house with a preposterous dunk. Rapper Rick Ross canceled on his first Madness visit but made it for the next. Gary Parrish won a chicken-wing eating contest, Larry Finch returned (after he was fired) to coach an alumni game and D.J. Stephens paid tribute to one of the greatest Memphis players ever by wearing his jersey for a dunk contest. All these things happened at Memphis Madness, which is what John Calipari renamed it sometime along the way. So here’s the complete and colorful history of the event, drawn from my notes, columns, memories and newspaper archives.